Cincinnati Reds RHP Hunter Greene returns from groin strain injury
Cincinnati Reds RHP Hunter Greene (4-3, 2.72) returns from the IL Wednesday to start against the Philadelphia Phillies at Great American Ball Park.
Will Hunter Greene make the difference he said he expects to make for the Cincinnati Reds in their final-stretch push for a playoff berth?
Will newcomer Ke’Bryan Hayes’ elite glove at third? Will Spencer Steer’s hot bat? Will Emilio Pagán, Scott Barlow and the rest of the bullpen hold up into (maybe through) October?
With 41 games to play as Greene makes his return from the injured list against the Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 13, baseball-reference.com gives the Reds a 31.3-percent chance to reach the playoffs. fangraphs.com which does a deeper dive on things such as remaining schedule, says it’s 11.1 percent.
Cincinnati Reds road to MLB postseason
Whatever the numbers suggest and wherever the impact sources might come from, here’s where the Reds stand and, more importantly, what they need to get done to reach their first postseason in a non-pandemic year since 2013:
They’re two games behind the struggling New York Mets for the final National League wild-card spot, with no teams between them and the Mets. The closest team behind the Reds in the race is division-rival St. Louis, at 2 games behind Cincinnati.The Reds have the toughest schedule remaining in baseball, with 23games left against teams currently in playoff position, including games left against all six in the NL and three at home next month against AL East-leading Toronto. They’re 20-25 against the playoff-positioned teams with a chance Aug. 13 to earn an important split in the season series against the Phillies.That remaining gauntlet means the three at home against the Mets immediately following the Toronto series are critical. A series win not only gains ground but assures winning the season series, which is used as the tiebreaker for a berth.Don’t overlook the Cardinals. The Reds are 3-4 against them with a remaining three-game series at home and a three-gamer on the road that suddenly look critical for not only keeping the Cards in the rear-view mirror but also for winning the season series. Again, tiebreaker.Crush the scrubs. If the Reds are able to hold their own against all those big shots in playoff position (star-studded big spenders in most cases), the difference in playing or fishing in October might come down to whether they dominate the 12 games left they have against teams that currently have losing records: Pirates (six left), Diamondbacks (three), Angels (three) and Athletics (three). They’re 32-25 against MLB’s losers this season, including 9-4 against the Buccos and D’Backs. They haven’t played the Angels or A’s yet; both of those series are during the two longest road trips of the season, three-city treks out west that are the only two trips left.
It ain’t easy.
“We know our schedule’s hard,” All-Star pitcher Andrew Abbott said. “We’re not making any excuses.”